Gophers Football

[drjim]

I'm sure my wife will be delighted to accept them.

She was certainly quite useful in helping the administration get rid of Claeys with less blood on their hands.

Edited January 4, 2017 by drjim

[Craig Arko]

She was certainly quite useful in helping the administration get rid of Claeys with less blood on their hands.

That's probably a minefield you should consider very carefully before stepping in.

Edited January 4, 2017 by Craig Arko

[USAFChief]

At least until academic institutions stop serving as farm systems for the big casino called the NFL. Which I suppose is the same thing.

To what end?

 

I don't understand the antagonism toward college sports. It doesn't cost taxpayer money. Don't watch it if you don't like it. Why campaign to deny others?

[USAFChief]

And Claeys is gassed.

 

I'm OK with it if they have a plan. If not, this would be a crowning moment of this whole fiasco. And if they have a replacement in mind, why keep him and his staff hanging for a week.

 

Not especially confident in the administration, which is kind of an evergreen statement for a Minnesota backer.

Concur.

[Craig Arko]

To what end?

I don't understand the antagonism toward college sports. It doesn't cost taxpayer money. Don't watch it if you don't like it. Why campaign to deny others?

Of course it costs taxpayers money, especially those taxpayers who have kids (or spouses) going to those schools.

 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ccap/2014/12/12/who-actually-funds-intercollegiate-athletic-programs/#13137d0b5b99

 

"Often the breakdown of these fees (which, at public institutions, can run, on average, an extra $2,000-5,000 per year), is not specific or transparent to the student. Factor in future interest payments for students who are using loans to pay for college, and the costs of these fees to the student can be much higher.

 

What do these fees fund? Generally, they’re allocated to eight specific areas: health services, student social centers, debt service on student administration and social centers (such as a student union), student government and publications, recreation, cultural programs, and intercollegiate athletics.

 

By far, the largest student fee is the last – the intercollegiate athletic fee – which can be upwards of 80% of the total fee amount at many institutions not in Power Five conferences.

 

Conventional wisdom says that intercollegiate athletics is a boon to colleges and universities; that it’s wildly profitable; attracts new students; enhances fundraising; and, boosts the university’s profile. Yet these are myths, often perpetuated by the media – and by the universities themselves.

 

The truth is that very few college athletic programs make a profit; instead, most are heavily subsidized by student fees and other institutional subsidies. Furthermore, these fee amounts aren’t static. They’re increasing annually."

Edited January 4, 2017 by Craig Arko

[drjim]

Of course it costs taxpayers money, especially those taxpayers who have kids (or spouses) going to those schools.

 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ccap/2014/12/12/who-actually-funds-intercollegiate-athletic-programs/#13137d0b5b99

 

"Often the breakdown of these fees (which, at public institutions, can run, on average, an extra $2,000-5,000 per year), is not specific or transparent to the student. Factor in future interest payments for students who are using loans to pay for college, and the costs of these fees to the student can be much higher.

 

What do these fees fund? Generally, they’re allocated to eight specific areas: health services, student social centers, debt service on student administration and social centers (such as a student union), student government and publications, recreation, cultural programs, and intercollegiate athletics.

 

By far, the largest student fee is the last – the intercollegiate athletic fee – which can be upwards of 80% of the total fee amount at many institutions not in Power Five conferences.

 

Conventional wisdom says that intercollegiate athletics is a boon to colleges and universities; that it’s wildly profitable; attracts new students; enhances fundraising; and, boosts the university’s profile. Yet these are myths, often perpetuated by the media – and by the universities themselves.

 

The truth is that very few college athletic programs make a profit; instead, most are heavily subsidized by student fees and other institutional subsidies. Furthermore, these fee amounts aren’t static. They’re increasing annually."

There is a huge difference between Power 5 schools and all others.

 

The first domino to fall will be the non Power 5 schools (plus a handful of others) that give scholarships. That strikes me as a loss.

 

Either the power schools will form a different league or the other schools that give scholarships will downgrade.

 

The D2 and D3 schools that have sports are a clear loss, but would probably argue it attracts students. Not exactly clear that is the case.

[Craig Arko]

There is a huge difference between Power 5 schools and all others.

The first domino to fall will be the non Power 5 schools (plus a handful of others) that give scholarships. That strikes me as a loss.

Either the power schools will form a different league or the other schools that give scholarships will downgrade.

The D2 and D3 schools that have sports are a clear loss, but would probably argue it attracts students. Not exactly clear that is the case.

Okay, let's look specifically at The University of Minnesota.

 

http://www.twincities.com/2015/11/15/umn-athletics-budget-shortfall-is-among-biggest-in-big-ten/

 

"The study focused on colleges that rely on student fees to cover losses at money-losing sports programs. That’s not the case at the U, where the sports subsidies are built into the general operating budget."

[drjim]

That's probably a minefield you should consider very carefully before stepping in.

Fair enough. I would be curious to hear what she and other women like her think was gained by Claeys getting fired.

 

From my perspective, there seems to be battles worth fighting and targets worth going after. Claeys just seems hallow on that front. And potentially risks alienating people who might be allies in future battles.

[Craig Arko]

All of which takes us back again to the Mission Statement of the University of Minnesota.

 

http://regents.umn.edu/sites/regents.umn.edu/files/policies/Mission_Statement.pdf

 

Which does not mention bowl games, athlete villages, or very expensive buyouts of athletic department officials contracts who are are found to be detrimental to the institution.

[Vanimal46]

Over 2,400 comments on the Star Tribune article I linked yesterday.... Shocked that so many people are outraged at the decision to fire Claeys. 

[biggentleben]

 

Over 2,400 comments on the Star Tribune article I linked yesterday.... Shocked that so many people are outraged at the decision to fire Claeys. 

 

Not terribly upset, but I don't think anything to do with the suspensions is reason to fire him. Frankly, there is plenty of reason to fire University personnel for their handling of that situation.

[Vanimal46]

 

Not terribly upset, but I don't think anything to do with the suspensions is reason to fire him. Frankly, there is plenty of reason to fire University personnel for their handling of that situation.

Nothing that I've read so far mentions that Coyle made this decision because of the sexual assault case. I think you could make a case that performance had something to do with the firing as well.... 

[TheLeviathan]

I'm not sure he did all that much to deserve this, it really is on the players and their poor behavior.  I think Claeys taking the side of the players over administration was absolutely a factor though.

[biggentleben]

 

I'm not sure he did all that much to deserve this, it really is on the players and their poor behavior.  I think Claeys taking the side of the players over administration was absolutely a factor though.

 

Certainly, though I think there is plenty on the field to question him on. I could have good argument for getting rid of him for his on-field coaching.

[Vanimal46]

 

I'm not sure he did all that much to deserve this, it really is on the players and their poor behavior.  I think Claeys taking the side of the players over administration was absolutely a factor though.

Agreed. I've got to imagine it's multi-layered in the decision to fire him. The fact that he tweeted out his love and support for the 10 players/entire team played a factor.

As Ben said, there's a good argument to get rid of him specifically for the on-field coaching too. 

And finally, the recruiting. His incoming class looks bad, really bad. Quite frankly you need to have some charm and charisma in order to recruit kids to come to the school. Based off of Claeys' interviews, he doesn't appear to have any of that. Good coach, bad recruiter.  

[Mike Sixel]

 

To what end?

I don't understand the antagonism toward college sports. It doesn't cost taxpayer money. Don't watch it if you don't like it. Why campaign to deny others?

 

Well, it does cost taxpayer money, it does distract universities from caring about academics (look at HS football in TX, and the money spend on stadiums, and NOT on classrooms and teachers), and no other country ties sports and education like this....and many have passed us on education. I wonder why.....could it be because we are spending money and time and resources on sports, and not on education?

 

Not to mention the fact a bunch of guys are getting rich off of unpaid athletes.

[Vanimal46]

I'm very intrigued with this news.... Les Miles is reportedly flying up to Minnesota to interview for the Gopher job. 

[Badsmerf]

Less Miles might be a decent fit. The style of his lsu teams fit with Minnesota. His main problem was being in the sec with Alabama and auburn. That conference has been tough the last ten years. I really don't like pj fleck. He seems like Brewster 2.0 to me.

[drjim]

I have to admit, Les Miles would be fun.

 

But it's going to be Fleck. Meh.

[USAFChief]

Sounds like Fleck. IMO that's the best possible outcome. I hope in 4 years or so we're terrified he's leaving.

[biggentleben]

Fleck feels like Glen Mason - hot coach of the moment, going to be hard to let it go because he'll likely still have success to a certain degree.

[TheLeviathan]

Fleck doesn't run a Big Ten style, this is going to be interesting for sure.

[biggentleben]

 

Fleck doesn't run a Big Ten style, this is going to be interesting for sure.

 

Akin to Mason....

 

Having played through that **** show, the only real positive is that he brought in Alex Gibb to innovate the line play (and therefore the running game), but that was due to Gibb's son being on staff already when Mason came in and Mason being smart enough to promote him on the defensive staff.

[Vanimal46]

Fleck, when described in the paper as a "fiery, energetic coach" reminds me of someone else....

http://xandolabs.com/research/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Time-Brewster-.jpg

Get that chili hot boys.... GET THAT CHILI HOT! 

 

[drjim]

I'm pretty meh on Fleck but he's a fine hire. And I'll give the administration credit for identifying their target and getting it down.

[nicksaviking]

I guess I don't see the similarities between Fleck and Brewster unless people are just thinking of the energy. Brewster hadn't been a head coach, in fact he was basically just a recruiter for Mack Brown who left for one year to go to the NFL for the sole purpose of learning the game. Fleck got a HC job at the age of 32 and did something with it.

 

Plenty of head coaches are fiery and energetic so I think the only reason to compare him to Brewster would be because the Gophers tend to pick conservative Midwest demeanors. Fleck seems to have substance while Brewster clearly didn't. The first thing this guy did when he got the WM was piss a lot of people off by rescinding a ton of scholarship offers, it didn't sit well but it meant he knew how he wanted his team to look; he had a vision, Brewster never had a vision or any kind of organizational plan. I think you guys might have got lucky with this one, this guy looks like he knows what he's doing to me. 

 

 

[USAFChief]

Fleck may or may not work out, it's always hard to tell in advance, but this is a home run hire.

 

 As much crap as Coyle has gotten in recent weeks, this was a demonstration of how a B1G level AD works.  No "committee," no settling, no questions.  He obviously knew ahead of time who was available and interested, and went out and got him.  Immediately.   Despite the serious issues currently surrounding the program.

 

Well done.

 

EDIT:  and I concur with NIck...Fleck is nothing like Brewster.  

 

 

[Mike Sixel]

 

Fleck may or may not work out, it's always hard to tell in advance, but this is a home run hire.

 

 As much crap as Coyle has gotten in recent weeks, this was a demonstration of how a B1G level AD works.  No "committee," no settling, no questions.  He obviously knew ahead of time who was available and interested, and went out and got him.  Immediately.   Despite the serious issues currently surrounding the program.

 

Well done.

 

EDIT:  and I concur with NIck...Fleck is nothing like Brewster.  

 

This, all this.

[Vanimal46]

 

Fleck may or may not work out, it's always hard to tell in advance, but this is a home run hire.

 

 As much crap as Coyle has gotten in recent weeks, this was a demonstration of how a B1G level AD works.  No "committee," no settling, no questions.  He obviously knew ahead of time who was available and interested, and went out and got him.  Immediately.   Despite the serious issues currently surrounding the program.

 

Well done.

 

EDIT:  and I concur with NIck...Fleck is nothing like Brewster.  

There's only one Tim Brewster... He was "tremendous", and light years ahead of his time. 

I would have preferred a more tenured, prestigious coach like Les Miles to give the program some credibility given the serious issues currently surrounding the program... I hope this flavor of the month turns out to be the right move for them. 

[biggentleben]

Nothing like Brewster, but he is not tremendously far off of Mason, and that is what scares me quite a bit.